The Computer Administered Panel Study (CAPS) collected demographic, personality, attitudinal, and other social psychological data from annual samples of University of North Carolina undergraduates from 1983 through 1988. Respondents spent 60 to 90 minutes per week for 20 weeks during the academic year answering questions via computer terminals. In their comparison of demographic and academic variables, researchers found few significant differences between respondents and the general undergraduate population. This dataset contains the Religious Attitude, Self-Consciousness Scale and the Self-Monitoring Scale. The Fenigstein Self-Consciousness Scale is a measure of the consistent tendency of persons to direct attention inward or outward. The Snyder Self-Monitoring Scale purports to measure individual differences in concern about the appropriateness of social behavior and attention to or use of situational cues for monitoring self-presentation.

Each year of the study, a random sample of registered University of North Carolina undergraduates was invited to attend an orientation session about the project. From those who attended and signed up to participate, 96 students (half male and half female) were chosen on the basis of scheduling compatibility. Each week for 20 weeks, respondents spent 60 to 90 minutes during the academic year answering questions via computer terminals. Respondents were paid a base rate of $4 to $5 per completed weekly session and an average of $2 per session more in rewards and bonuses, including a chance at a substantial end-of-year bonus designed to keep subject attrition low. Data presented here were taken from 1986, 1987, and 1988. For 1986, this CAPS unit was also administered in a paper and pencil version and to the respondents’ same-sex friend. This information about the survey was taken from the Odum Institute's summary of the CAPS program.

L. A. Penner and W. E. Wymer. 1983. “The Moderator Variable Approach to Behavioral Predictability: Some of the Variables Some of the Time.” Journal of Research in Personality. 37:339-353.

Notes

When citing this study, the following information should be included:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.(insert study date(s)) Computer Assisted Panel Study (CAPS)[Computer file]. Chapel Hill: Institute for Research in Social Science[producer]. Module (insert name of specific CAPS module(s) here).

About the SID variable

Because the subject's ID is derived from the CAPS year and a sequential number, respondents can be tracked for an entire year's worth of experiments. Datasets can also be merged using the respondent's ID. The original SID, as we received it from the primary investigator, had an underscore between the year and the ID number. The underscore was deleted to make the variable numeric, but the SID was not changed in any other way.

Creating Scales Using This Dataset

The following scales can be created using this dataset:

FOR PRIVSELFThe private self-consciousness scale concerns the process of attending to one’s inner thoughts and feelings. The following variables are included in the scale: FIGOUT, AWARE, REFLECT, FANATASY, SCRUTINI, ATTENT, MOTIVES, WATCH, MOOD, and MINDWORK. AWARE and SCRUTINI should be reversed scored.

FOR PUBSELFThe public self-consciousness scale is a general awareness of self as a social object that has an effect on others. The following variables are included in the scale: STYLE, PRESENT, SELFCON, IMPRESS, MIRROR, OTHTHINK, and APPEAR.

FOR SOCANXIEThe social anxiety scale measures the discomfort experienced in the presence of others. The following variables are included in the scale: SHYNESS, TROUBLE, EMBRASS, HARDTALK, ANXIOUS, and NERVOUS. HARDTALK should be reversed scored.

FOR EXTRAVERExtraversion subscale- includes the following variables: CENTER, LIKEME, CHARADE, CHANGING, JOKES, AWKARD. The following variables should be reversed scored in this measure: CHANGING, JOKES, and AWKWARD.

FOR OTHERDIROther directedness subscale- includes the following variables: TRUEINN, PARTIES, ONASHOW, CUES, ACTDIFF, PRETEND, PERSON, OPINION, GETALONG, AWKARD, FRIENDLY. The following variables should be reversed scored in this measure: TRUEINN, PARTIES, OPINION, AWKARD, and FRIENDLY.